Gutter Guards

Started by BarbaraD11 • 4 replies • 648 views

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BarbaraD11 (Washington)
Posts: 10

Posted:

Our CCR’s state that the HOA is responsible for gutter maintenance, however, several homeowners have installed gutter guards without authorization. Can the homeowners be made responsible for maintenance?

MaxB4
Posts: 3,513

Posted:

No, but they can be charged for their removal.

BarbaraD11 (Washington)
Posts: 10

Posted:

Hmmmm...that doesn’t sound right. The HOA maintains the gutters, i.e., flush annually for debris from the pine trees, or any repairs. Now several homeowners decided to install the gutter guards without approval, that could create a different type of maintenance. In the event of a big wind storm and the guard dislodges, why should the HOA incur the cost of repair when they were not previously installed on all homes by the HOA? If the homeowner made a change to the exterior of their home that the HOA was responsible for why wouldn’t the homeowner be responsible for its maintenance?

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299

Posted:

Max is right. The usual way to deal with unapproved modifications is to notify the homeowner of the violation, give them a time limit to address it, after which the association will remove it *at the owner's expense*.

Why the board should get rid of them:

* They can interfere with cleaning out whatever debris does get trapped.

* They may affect drainage and restrict water flow through gutters and drain pipes, etc. etc.

* I've heard some reports that some types of gutter guard can increase the likelihood of ice damming, which is an issue in the northern parts of the country.

* You can't assume homeowners will maintain the things. If they do, then for insurance purposes they may be considered to be working for the association and the association liable if they get injured. You only want insured workers climbing around on ladders.

MichaelS56 (Minnesota)
Posts: 858

Posted:

Our gutter cleaning vendor does charge more for cleaning gutters that do not have gutters guards. He does not take off the guards but cleans the tops of the guards. A good iece of information was stated stated that gutter guards could increase the possibility of ice dams in the northern regions.

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